Defense News
U.S. President Donald Trump missed his campaign promise to offer a bill to "eliminate the defense sequester" within the first 100 days of his administration, but hawkish Republican lawmakers are pressing ahead.
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Bloomberg
President Donald Trump is expected to propose a $603 billion defense budget for the year beginning Oct. 1 that would add one warship but no more F-35 and Super Hornet jets than the Obama administration had projected, according to officials.
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Bisek & Company, Inc. Military Resale Distributing Agent and BrokerBisek & Company, Inc. has been a military broker for 48 years & owned by the same family into the third generation. As retired Navy and Veterans of the Navy, they know first-hand how important Military Resale Benefit is to those on active duty while their families are at home. It is important to Bisek & Company that they represent quality products. They work along side Manufacture to bring the best price to the Category Managers & Buyers. Their teams of store sales representatives are continually in the stores insuring their manufactures products are always on the shelf with the proper point of sale signs.

Defense News It is time for the U.S. Department of Defense to transition to a "mission first" approach to acquisition, which will require changing a number of restrictions currently in place, according to an interim report from a congressionally mandated research panel.READ MORE

Blue Star FamiliesToday, May 19, is the last day to take the Military Family Lifestyle Survey. Make your voice heard and make a difference for your military family. Contribute to a leading resource that is used to understand the issues facing military families. Survey open to active duty service members, veterans, and military families.READ MORE

Military UpdateBy year's end, the Department of Defense expects to launch its 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, which will assess the pros and cons of converting service members from traditional basic pay and tax-free allowances to a single, civilian-like salary system. READ MORE

Military.comImmediate family members of fallen troops now can receive long-term access cards for Air Force bases thanks to a program launched this month. The Gold Star Base Access ID program was implemented servicewide May 15. The ID cards allow only base access and are not good for entrance into MWR activities, medical facilities, exchange or commissary services, officials said. Widows and minor dependents already have base access through the dependent ID card system. READ MORE

Air Force TimesHeather Wilson, a former representative from New Mexico and Air Force Academy graduate, was sworn in as the 24th secretary of the Air Force. Defense Secretary Mattis lauded Wilson's accomplishments, including being one of the first women to graduate from the Academy, being a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England, and serving as director for European defense policy and arms control on the National Security Council. Wilson is the first service secretary to take office in the Trump administration. READ MORE

U.S. Department of DefenseIn honor of Mother's Day, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed active-duty troops, their spouses and mothers to the White House. "To every military service member, mother and spouse here today, I want you to know you have my complete and total support ... [and] the White House, this administration and this government stands fully behind you," the president said.READ MORE

The HillThe bipartisan Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act "will establish in law this newly created office," which would allow VA Secretary David Shulkin to more easily dismiss poorly performing employees and protect whistleblowers, according to the bill’s announcement. President Donald Trump late last month signed an executive order to create the office. READ MORE

COMMISSARY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissary Web Posts

The following commissary items were recently posted to the ALA Website:

DVIDSJoint Base Andrews and the Defense Commissary Agency commissary celebrated the donation of its 30,000th pound of food to the Community Support Systems Baden Food Pantry, May 12.
The JBA commissary has donated an average of 300 pounds of food each week since June 2015 as part of the Mission Nutrition initiative between JBA and the CSS Baden Food Pantry under the Air Force Community Partnership Program.
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FoodNavigator-usa.comGrocery shoppers online behave much differently from their in-store counterparts, and the online shopper group will continue to increase. What should brands and retailers keep in mind in this changing landscape?
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SmartCities DIVEWasteless, a startup with headquarters in Israel and New York, has introduced a new innovation dubbed the "Internet of Groceries" to reduce waste while saving customers and retailers money, according to a press statement.
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By Bambi MajumdarMidwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee recently announced their expansion plans, which include a shift beyond traditional grocery. What is interesting to note is the increased emphasis and budget for the IT department, an area that hadn't been high on retailer lists until recently. Technology plays an important role for retailers and buyers, with studies proving that users will readily switch grocers for a better customer experience, both in-store and through e-commerce. READ MORE

San Antonio Express-NewsImagine a world where you could get H-E-B groceries delivered to your home. It's perhaps the dream of many Texas shoppers before they head out into the busy streets, but this week it's slated to become reality.
Grocery delivery service Instacart will launch its Instacart Express membership program Thursday in Midland and Odessa, according to a company press release. Instacart Express offers unlimited same-day, one-hour grocery deliveries on orders of $35 or more.READ MORE

Drug Store NewsFood retailer Aldi is known for its low prices, high quality, small stores and exclusive brands. But it represents something else as well.
The company is one of the best U.S. examples of a retailer that combines discount pricing with a big commitment to health and wellness. The impact is fairly large because this global company operates more than 1,600 stores across the United States, and is on a growth spree with remodels and newly added stores.READ MORE

NPRGrocery stores in America have changed from neighborhood corner markets to multimillion dollar chains that sell convenience — along with thousands of products — to satisfy the demand of the country's hungry consumers. What caused this transformation? And what will our grocery stores be like in the future?
Award-winning food writer Michael Ruhlman, author of more than 20 books, examines this phenomenon through the story of the Midwestern grocery chain Heinen's.READ MORE

Supermarket NewsRetail is in trouble lately, and everyone is trying to find ways to combat that. For Hershey's, whose "success is inherently tied to the success of brick and mortar," that fight means creating a grocery store of the future. Using innovative strategies to meld traditional retail with the digital age and produce a "hyperfocus on the shopper," the candy supplier feels that it can keep both perimeter and center store numbers strong.
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Reuters Chinese food and dairy company Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial said that it planned to bid for Danone's entire stake in U.S. organic yogurt business Stonyfield for about $850 million.
Danone declined to comment, while Yili said the deal was in its preliminary stages.READ MORE

Belleville News-DemocratAirmen and Air Force families can get special offers from the Scott AFB Exchange delivered straight to their inboxes every week by signing up for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service Buddy List.
All shoppers have to do is contact the Scott AFB Exchange and ask to join approximately 115,000 authorized Exchange shoppers worldwide receiving exclusive offers via email from their local Exchange.
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DoD News, Defense Media LiveA lot of military members, their families and Defense Department employees don't know this, but photocopying any U.S. government identification is a violation of Title 18, U.S. Code Part I, Chapter 33, Section 701.
The law reads, "Whoever manufactures, sells, or possesses any badge, identification card or other insignia of the design prescribed by the head of any department or agency of the United States for use by any officer or employee thereof, or any colorable imitation thereof, or photographs, prints, or in any other manner makes or executes any engraving, photograph, print, or impression in the likeness of any such badge, identification card, or other insignia, or any colorable imitation thereof, except as authorized under regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."READ MORE

WYFF-TVThe summer travel season is fast approaching, and GasBuddy has done some information gathering that might help you decide where to stop along the way.
GasBuddy analyzed data from more than 7 million consumer-generated ratings of convenience stores and gas stations in all 50 states in the U.S. The ratings covered four main categories: cleanest restrooms, best coffee, best customer service and overall experience. The choices included 131 different convenience store brands that have at least 30 locations.
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Navy TimesThe U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London is welcoming Republican President Donald Trump this week to deliver a commencement address.
Trump delivered the keynote address at the invitation-only graduation ceremony on May 17.
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ReutersU.S. retail sales increased broadly in April while consumer prices rebounded, pointing to a pickup in economic growth and a gradual rise in inflation that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates next month.
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Business InsiderNearly half of retail workers are at risk of losing their jobs to robots and other automation technology, according to a new report.
Roughly 6 to 7.5 million retail jobs "likely will be automated out of existence in the coming years, leaving a large portion of the retail workforce at risk of becoming 'stranded workers,'" according to the 56-page report by investment advisory firm Cornerstone Capital Group.
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Business InsiderWalmart is crushing expectations while dozens of other retailers are closing stores and filing for bankruptcy at rates not seen since the recession.
Walmart reported that e-commerce sales soared by 63 percent in its most recent quarter, compared with 29 percent growth the prior quarter. The company said most of these sales were organic through Walmart.com.
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Chicago TribuneAfter the sixth consecutive year of losses and several rounds of store closings, Sears Holdings Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert says he's still committed to reversing the department store chain's slide by turning Sears into a 21st-century merchant focused on catering to its best customers.READ MORE

CNBCIn an effort to resonate more with younger consumers, handbag maker Coach is buying its smaller rival, Kate Spade & Co., for $2.4 billion, the companies announced recently, putting many M&A rumors to rest.READ MORE

ForbesThe glory days of retails are over. Just type in the phrase "sad mall" or "dead mall" to see a litany of the bittersweet hallmarks of yesteryear. The numbers don't lie: Macy's is in the midst of closing 15 percent of its stores, 30 Sears and K-marts are closing and even CVS is shutting down 70 locations across America. And it's not just the big guys affected. While these closures spell the end for many businesses entirely, it presents a chance for many others to right size, and reimagine their role and purpose in a rapidly changed world.
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CSP Daily NewsThe world witnessed a series of ransomware computer attacks on May 12 that one NATO official described to The Wall Street Journal as one of "unprecedented scale and synchronization."
More than 200,000 victims across 150 countries were affected, ranging from England's National Health Service to the Nissan Motor Co. Convenience-store operators should be prepared for cyberattack attempts, but there's no reason to panic given the recent news.
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Convenience Store NewsCan a convenience store really be a millennial magnet? Loop Neighborhood Convenience Stores, owned by AU Energy in Freemont, thinks so.
Loop has set out to disrupt the conventional wisdom on what a convenience store should be, partly by reaching out to women, people seeking better choices and, yes, millennials.READ MORE

Convenience Store DecisionsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a guidance document as a follow up to the agency's announcement recently to further explain the three-month extension of many deeming regulation future compliance deadlines for cigars, pipe tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapor products, hookah tobacco, and nicotine gels, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets reported.
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BloombergWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc. took steps to force U.S. antitrust officials to decide within two months whether to approve its proposed takeover of rival pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corp.
The companies have notified the Federal Trade Commission that they have complied with the agency's request for information related to the deal, a move that triggers a 60-day deadline for the commission to clear the merger or sue to block it.READ MORE

CSP Daily NewsWhether it's a two-store mom-and-pop or a 1,000-unit, worldwide conglomerate, C-store retailers need to be on social media. But creating pages for a C-store on a social network is one thing. Managing the page and interacting with customers online is another thing entirely. CSP spoke with Mike Templeton, marketing manager of Kum & Go LC, West Des Moines, Iowa, which has more than 400 stores in 11 states, and more than 100,000 likes on Facebook, for a few tips on what to keep in mind when considering a social-media marketing plan.
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Ho'okeleJoint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Morale, Welfare and Recreation offers everything under the sun to visiting U.S. and foreign ships, said Frank Del Gaudio, deployed forces support coordinator.
As they prepare for their port visit to JBPHH, Del Gaudio shares helpful information with the executive officers, command master chiefs and recreation services officers of visiting ships.READ MORE

Military TimesIf local, state and national political and business leaders want to help military families, one place to start is addressing the unemployment — and underemployment — of military spouses, according to four different groups who are advocates for the military community.
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